


Early Dawn

by xstatic



Category: Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series)
Genre: A little angst, Fluff, M/M, Road Trips, zagene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-08-24 06:17:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16634555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xstatic/pseuds/xstatic
Summary: Life's constantly throwing shit at you, and Zach and Eugene know that pretty thoroughly. Somehow, they manage to help each other through it.Turns out that being there for someone at their most vulnerable can really change the way you feel about them.





	1. To Make you Well

* * *

Zach's eyes opened blearily. Instead of what he normally saw first thing in the morning- the wall on the opposite side of his room- he was greeted with Eugene's face a few inches away from his, making direct eye contact.

He shouted and jumped back, whacking the back of his head on the headrest of his car seat. He heard a chorus of familiar laughter in response, but it took a moment to register what had just happened.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed, wincing as he rubbed the base of his skull.

As much as he wanted to be upset, though, it was only a few seconds until his complaint morphed into laughing along with the other try guys. 

As the fog in his brain emptied out- quicker than usual, due to that terrifying wake-up call- fuzzy memories of where he was came into focus. He, Eugene, Keith, and Ned were road-tripping back from filming an episode a few states away. Ned and Keith had apparently switched spots in the night- the former was now driving when he hadn't been the day before, and the latter was sitting in the passenger seat, looking exhausted but content.

"Sorry Zach, I put him up to that," Ned grinned, not looking sorry in the least. "A little adrenaline really kick-starts your morning, huh?"

"Yeah, well... warn me next time." Zach groaned. He glanced to his right, where Eugene had collapsed back into his own seat and was covering his mouth with one hand to stifle the last of his snickering.

"Well, then it wouldn't really work-"

"Guys, look!" Keith cut in, his voice still warped with sleep, gesturing at the horizon. Zach's eyes snapped back to the front of the car. They'd come over the top of a hill, and a mountain range was visible in the distance- presumably the one Ned was forcing them all to hike later, since it was the last day before they got home. It was pretty, sure, but Zach's back was _killing_ him after sleeping in the car, and all he really wanted to do was get back to his bed.

But if he didn't go on the hike, he'd feel like he was dragging everyone else down.

He exhaled softly and reached for the blanket that was over his knees, drawing it up around his shoulders. In his periferals he thought he saw Eugene's eyes resting on him, but he didn't mention it. That was pretty normal Eugene behavior.

So... Why was his brain still stuck on it a few minutes after?

He tried to shake the weird feeling in the back of his mind- Eugene was doing something completely different by then, anyway- and took his headphones from the bag on the floor in front of him, slipping them on. Maybe music would help.

 

* * *

  

The hike was going about as well as he thought it would. Zach felt terrible for making the group stop so often, but none of the other guys seemed bothered by having to slow their pace for him, and he had to keep deflecting their concerned questions. It wasn't until they were about 2/3 of the way up the mountain, when Zach just about doubled over in pain and had to be helped to a rock on the side of the trail, that he admitted he wasn't ok.

"Yeah, no shit," Keith said, crouched in front of him. "How did you even make it _this_ far?"

Zach just shook his head in response, trying to stay still until the pain faded.

"It's alright Zach, we'll all head back down. Don't make this the hill you die on," Ned spoke, almost managing to keep a straight face, until Zach started giggling at his pun.

"Ow, God, laughing... bad." Zach winced. Ned's smile fell, replaced with a mix of guilt and worry. "And I'm not going to ruin your guys' hike, I can just... go back down by myself?"

"Dude, there is _no way_ we're letting you go alone-"

"I'll head back with him," Eugene suggested. Zach looked up to see him standing near Ned, a few feet back.

Ned turned to him. "Are you sure? Is- is that ok with you, too, Zach?" He asked, shifting his gaze to Zach toward the end of the question.

Eugene gave a slight shrug of confirmation, and Zach nodded in response, realizing that that was probably the furthest the others would be willing to negotiate. And, if he was being honest, he might die if he tried walking any farther by himself.

He watched the light go back into Ned's eyes at the prospect of finishing the hike- he had clearly been a bit upset to turn back early because of him, though he was too good of a friend to ever admit it.

"Great. Alright, hang on..." Ned started rummaging in his backpack, searching for the miniature bottles of water they'd brought when they set out. Zach noticed that Ned had gotten a lot better at being prepared ever since Wes was born. Keith stood and extended a hand to Zach, helping him stumble back onto his feet.

"Alright! Here you go," Ned said, passing out a couple of water bottles to Eugene and him. Zach managed to fit his into the largest pocket of his shorts, while Eugene just held his in one hand. "Are you guys all set, then?"

"Yeah, we should be good," responded Zach. He was feeling mostly better- not that the pain had gone away, but it had faded back into a less debilitating ache.

Keith gave them a thumbs-up. "We'll meet you back at the car in an hour or so?" He said.

"You better, or we'll just leave y'all here and drive back without you," Eugene joked.

"I expect nothing less from you, Eugene," Keith grinned. Zach watched as he and Ned turned and started back up the trail, casting a few glances back over their shoulders before they rounded a corner and vanished from his line of sight. Eugene looked over at him.

"You can walk, right?"

"For now, but you might have to carry me at some point." And that was only a half-joke; he really didn't know how much worse his back would get.

Eugene laughed and began the trek back down the path. "At least it wouldn't be that hard!"

"Hey!" Zach called, taking a few longer strides to catch up to him.

"I'm serious, dude, you are _frail_."

 

* * *

  

After they reached the bottom of the mountain, Zach spent the remaining half-hour just hanging out with Eugene. Chilling in the air-conditioned car, blasting CDs through the speakers, chugging mini bottles of water from the cooler, and trying to keep his back in as little pain as possible (Eugene lended him his neck-pillow to support it)- overall, it was surprisingly... fun? At least, more so than the miserable time he'd had hiking.

The time went by quickly, and he was strangely almost disappointed when the other half of the group got back. Ned made sure to show them all of the pictures he'd taken when they got to the top, most of which were the exact same view, but Zach was grateful nonetheless.

As they buckled back into their seats to head home, Zach swore he could feel Eugene's eyes on him again. He shifted to look at the other man, and his suspicions were confirmed as they made eye contact.

Eugene just gave him a soft smile, before turning to look ahead, out the windshield.

_Weird._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!! This is my first try guys fanfic, and my first time writing about, like, real people at all, so i hope it isn't too horrible lmao. Let me know what you think tho!
> 
> If you liked this, [buy me a coffee?](https://ko-fi.com/B0B3CI77)


	2. You Would do the Same for Me

It had been almost a week since they'd gotten back home. That meant that it was almost enough time for Zach to forget the persistent, nagging... _thing_ lurking in the corners of his subconscious. The key word being "almost".

He could hardly call it a thought, since he couldn't even attempt to parse it into words. He wished he could, though- at least then he could work on what it meant.

As it was, he wasn't even sure if it was a feeling, because if it was, he was certain he'd never felt it before. Which was strange- one would think that after almost 30 years of life, he'd have felt them all.

So that's what he was working with- or against, he wasn't sure yet- a _thing_. And it really didn't know how to shut the fuck up. He guessed that shouldn't be surprising; it did come from _his_ brain, after all. But every time he thought it had gone away, it lurched back into existence unexpectedly. It all would have been somewhat manageable, though, if it happened at literally any time other than when he was around Eugene.

It was weird, because the things that seemed to remind him of it were all so little. Things that Eugene had always done: giving him his full attention when he spoke, trying extra hard to make him laugh- hell, even so much as glancing over at him. He was so much more aware of them than he'd been before, and the most frustrating part was that he had no explanation for it.

So he'd started kind of... avoiding Eugene, for lack of a better word.

It was nothing the other man had done. None of those little actions (that he was now hyperaware of) made him uncomfortable, but the way his brain was reacting to them sure did. He was terrified that his inner awkwardness would somehow channel out through his body language and ruin the normally relaxed atmosphere that they had.

He prayed that Eugene wouldn't notice and that the thing would go away on its own.

As he lay in his bed, contemplating this, his phone lit up with a notification. Curious, he opened it.

 

\---

**Eugene**

_9:24 PM_

hey could you come over

_9:28 PM_

nevermind sorry

\---

 

Zach's brow furrowed in concern, wishing he'd seen and responded to the earlier message. He quickly texted back, "Is everything ok?" Staring blankly at the screen of his phone, he waited for an answer, but none came. Just a notification that said his message was _"Read",_ and added to his worry. Decisively he sat up and sent another text: "I'm heading over."

He rubbed his face with one hand and paused for a moment to take a breath, before standing up to get his car keys from the kitchen table.

 

* * *

 

 He'd been nervous on the ride over, checking his phone at stoplights even though he knew he technically wasn't supposed to. Each time he'd had some small flutter of hope in his chest that Eugene would have replied, but when nothing showed up on his lock screen it died all over again. Now, as he stood outside Eugene's door, it re-emerged tenfold, leaping up into his throat. He coughed quietly in a vain attempt to clear it, before giving up and tentatively lifting a hand to rap on the door.

 To his mild surprise, it creaked open a moment later.

Eugene stood a few feet away, a slightly-too-pleasant smile plastered on his face. "Zach," he greeted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly, reflexively. Zach waited for him to say something else, but he didn't, and they were instead left with a stretch of silence that lasted just a beat too long to be natural.

"Uh, hey," he responded, instinctively shoving his hands into his pockets to mask how uncomfortable he was.

"Why are you here?"

Zach blinked in surprise and confusion. He didn't know what he'd expected him to say, but it wasn't... _that_. "You asked." He nearly tripped over his words as he spoke.

"I don't think I did." There was a flatness and finality to his voice that conveyed that he knew exactly what Zach meant, despite what he'd said.

Frustration stabbed at Zach's core. Was Eugene really so averse to accepting help? He clearly wasn't alright. His eyes were tinged red and slightly swollen from crying, though Zach was trying to be respectful and not bring it up- but the way this conversation was going made that harder by the minute. It struck Zach that something had been off about the way Eugene was speaking, and as he played back the sound in his mind, he realized what it was. His words had been slurred together over-exaggeratedly; he was trying to fake being drunk.

Weirdly, that thought kind of hurt. Did he not trust Zach enough to act vulnerable around him without the excuse of inebriation? They'd been friends for years. He stepped forward slightly, toeing the line between the apartment and the hallway. Malcontent seeped through his next words, though he tried to prevent it. "Do you want me to leave?"

That stopped Eugene. He'd opened his mouth as soon as Zach started to speak, but it slowly closed as he processed the sentence. He looked directly into his eyes, and Zach felt like he was looking through him somehow. His gaze flickered, searching. They stood like that for an amount of time that was hard to put a label on, before Eugene tilted his head downward and exhaled audibly. "No," he admitted, dropping his guard, and pretense of being drunk.

Zach's expression softened slightly. Eugene looked back up, but didn't quite meet his eyes. Instead, his arms fell to his sides and he turned, walking back into the apartment. Zach took that as a wordless cue to enter, and he did, shutting the door behind him with a click. He glanced around as he meandered toward the dining table. Everything looked the same as it did the last time he'd been here- not that he'd expected anything to have changed, but it was a reassuring sense of familiarity. He pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, watching Eugene across the room. The other man was now sitting on the couch with his hands folded, staring at the coffee table in front of him. "Gene?" He asked carefully. Eugene shifted slightly to look back at him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." He replied.

"What _do_ you want?"

Eugene went quiet again. Zach worried he'd said something wrong, but a few moments later, he spoke. "Could you just sit with me for a while?" His voice wavered and his words sounded uncertain, and Zach realized how difficult that must have been for him to ask. He stood without speaking and crossed the distance to the couch, settling down next to Eugene. Their shoulders barely touched, but Zach could still feel the warmth radiating off of him. After a while, silence began to ring in his ears. But it wasn't awkward in the slightest.

Zach looked down at his hands, resting in his lap. From the corner of his eye, he watched as tears fell onto Eugene's legs, forming dark splotches on his jeans. He was trembling, Zach realized. Unsure of what to do but sensing that he needed to do something, he leaned against him slightly, trying his best to be comforting. Eugene tensed, and Zach's heart started to pound- from fear or something else, he wasn't sure- until Eugene relaxed into the touch, resting against Zach's arm in return.

And... it was nice.

At some point, Zach was distantly aware of his eyes sliding closed and his head falling to lay on top of Eugene's shoulder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for how late this update was! but here it is, rip. thank you guys for all the nice comments on the first chapter! <3
> 
> \- - -
> 
> [my ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/B0B3CI77)


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